Lamp hanger stem and guide



{ J1me 1945- I T. B. FARRINGTON ETAL 2,377,371

LAMP HANGER STEM AND GUIDE 2 Shets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 28, 1944 INVENTORS THAI El? B. FARR/NGTOA/ R0559? A. FARAINGTOIV W40; 7. X54451? Br 6 X M .4 0RNKS June 12, 1945.

T. B. FARRINGTON ETAL LAMP HANGER STEM AND GUIDE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jar 28, 1944 MN 5 .U M W W w F m A 5 5 mmwfi me f, Y B

Patented June 12, 1945 Thayer B. Farrington and Robert K. Farrington,

Cleveland Heights, and Wade T. Keller, Cleveland, )hio, assignors to The Thompson Electric Company, Cleveland, Ohio, a Ohio corporation of Application January 28, 1944, Serial N21. 520,004

3 Claims.

This invention relatesto improvements in a lamp hanger stem and coacting guide used in connection with lowering lamp hangers.

Among the objects of the present invention are improvements in the positive positioning of the stem in the guide while at the same time reducing the contacting areas between the two parts so as to provide ease in positioning the parts, together with freedom from corrosive attachment of one of the parts to the other during long periods of disuse.

Another object of the invention is to provide an easy entrance of one part within the other as the parts are moved to coacting latching position, together with refinements in the contacting surfaces on the stem and guide to better enable them to serve their purpose.

Another object of the invention is to provide a coacting lamp hanger stem and guide wherein the stem is arranged for 'efllcient coaction with guides of modified forms.

Still another object of the invention is to provide lamp hanger stems adapted to be utilized with flexible cables of different sizes.

Other objects and advantages of our invention will be apparent from the accompanying drawings and specification and the essential features will be summarized in the claims.

In the drawings Fig. 1 is a view of our coacting stem and guide in fully engaged or latched position, the stem being shown in side elevation and the guide being shown in central longitudinal section;

Figs. 2, 3 and 4 are sectional views taken along similarly numbered lines of Fig. 1, the stem being omitted in Fig. 4 for clearness;

Fig. 5 is a side elevational view of the stem of Fig. 1, but taken at 90 therefrom;

Fig. 6 is a, side elevational view of the guide as viewed from the left-hand side of Fig. 1;

Fig. 7 is a sectional view of the guide taken along the line 1-'! of Fig, 1; while Fig. 8 is a sectional view through a modified form of cable guide.

The stem and guide which form the subject matter of the present application are parts of a larger structure, a representative form of which is shown in United States Patent 2,303,626, granted December 1, 1942, to Thayer B. Farrington. This shows a known type of lowering lamp hanger wherein a guide such as that shown herein at I!) is part of a fixed structure mounted in an elevated spot, such as on a pole or stack outdoors or on a roof truss indoors. A stem ,as indicated herein at H carries a lamp which is lowerable by means of a flexible cable, chain or the like, as shown in the above mentioned Farrington patent, whereby the lamp may be disconnected from the fixed portion of the hanger and lowered to a floor or platform for cleaning, servicing and the like. The parts shown herein at l0 and I l are intended to perform functions like similar parts described in the above-mentioned Farrington patent.

The present invention relates to improvements in the stem and guide alone.

One of the disadvantages of earlier structures was that if sufficient clearance were allowed between the stem and guide to permit the stem to enter easily into the guide to attain latching position as shown herein in Fig. 1, then there was objectionable side play between the parts so that if the lamp were exposed in an outdoor position to the force of the wind, it would sway, causing objectionable results and a wearing out of the parts. Another disadvantage of th older structures was that when maintained in latched positioned for a long period without servicing, corrosion would occur between the stem and guide so that it was diflicult if not impossible to release the stem from the guide when it was finally desired to lower the lamp for servicing. Our present invention overcomes all of these disadvantages.

Briefly, th guide 10 is generally cylindrical in form and provided with a flange Illa nearer the upper than the lower end thereof, this flange having openings 10b on opposite sides of the axis of the guide for attachment to the fixed hanger structure as by bolts or the like. In another form of our device mentioned later, the guide may terminate on a level with the upper surface of the flange 80a. The lower end of the guide is cut off along a plane at an angle of approximately 45 to the axis of the guide as indicated by the angle A in Fig. 1. Obviously the angle which the plane of the cut end makes with the horizontal is also equal to the angle A. The lowermost part of this cut surface is sharpened to a point as indicated at We in the various views for the purpose of guid ing the stem, as will later appear. The out surfaces of the cylinder at the lower end are given smoothly contoured surfaces, as-indicated at hid in Fig. 4, for the purpose of smoothly guiding the stem into position. Along one side wall of the guide a slot I2 is cut through the wall parallel to the axis of the guide and this serves to receive the finlike projection I la of the stem l l as it moves to' the position of Fig. 1. Along the sides of the slot and extending outwardly from the guide are parallel ribs [3 which are notched at Ma to receive the latch dog I lb which, as shown in Fig. 1.

is pivotally mounted at IIc on the projection Ila of the stem. This latch dog is arranged so that gravity tends to move it into latching position, and it is released by a slight upward movement of the stem relative to the guide. followed by a quick lowering of the stem l I, as described in the above mentioned Farrington patent.

The guide I is provided with inwardly extending projections at various levels for contacting coacting projections of the stem I I. At the uppermost level the ring I4 projects inwardly. At an intermediate level is the inwardly projecting ring I 5. At a lower level are inwardly extending arcuate projections I6 each slightly less than a semicircle in extent. At the lowermost level is an arcuate projection H on the back wall only of the guide and of limited extent. The purpose of these inward projections will be more fully explained in connection with the positioning of the stem.

The stem II, as best seen in Figs. 1 and 5, has an upper portion generally cylindrical in shape terminating in a downwardly opening cup I8 to which the lowering lamp is attached by means of the threads IBa. A flexible cable, chain or the like, extends downwardly through the central hollow I9 of the stem and a securing member engages the shoulders of the cup I8 to retain the flexible member in position in the stem. This flexible lowering member passes out the upper end of the stem and over suitable pulleys, as shown in the above mentioned Farrington patent. Various size adapters are provided as indicated at 20, Fig. 5, and 2|, Fig. 8. These have an outer diameter which is uniform and adapted to fit snugly within the internal diameter of the hollow I9 of the stem. The inside diameter 20a of the adapter 20 is smaller than the inside diameter 2 la oi the adapter 2I so that the adapter 2I may be used with a cable of large diameter and the adapter 20 may be substituted as a cable of smaller diameter is used. Such an adapter avoids objectionable side play of the cable inside the stem.

outwardly extending projections are provided at different levels on the stem I I and adapted to coact with the projections I4, I and I6 already described in connection with the guide I0. Referring to Figs. 1 and 5, at the lower level three projections 22, 23 and 24 are provided at equally spaced points about the periphery of the stem II. The projection or pad 22 is adjacent the latch dog III) while the projections 23 and 24 are positioned at approximately 90 (or a little more) in opposite directions around the stem from the pad 22. At an upper level the stem I I is provided with two outwardly extending projections 25 and 26 which are vertically alined respectively above the projections 23 and 24. It will be noted that these upper projections 25 and 2B are of sufficient vertical extent to engage either the projection I5 or I4 of the guide I0.

Necessarily a slight play must be allowed between the outer diameter of the projections 22, 23 and 2-4 on the one hand and the inside diameter of the projections I6 on the other. Preferably therefore the outer arcuate faces 23a and 24a of the projections 23 and 24 are arranged upon an are about a center B which is eccentric with respect to the ax s of the stem by an amount apously described, and the eccentricity is in the same direction from the axis.

It results from the above described construction'that when the stem I I is pulled upwardly into the-guide I0 by means of a flexible cable or the like, as described, the upper surface of the fin I Ia which is rounded as indicated at Ila, Fig. 5, engages on one side or the other of the point We and gradually travels up the 45 angle A of the lower end of the guide, being caused to smoothly travel along this surface by means of the curved surfaces Illd until the fin Ila enters the slot I2. Further upward movement of the stem eventually causes engagement of the latch dog II?) in the notches li a. Referring to Fig. 5, upward pull on the cable raises stem II causing the flange I2Ib, at the lower end of the stem, to compress spring I22 against flange I200. of the sleeve I20 of a lowering lamp hanger member not otherwise shown in the drawings. The parts I20, I20a, I2Ib and I22 are analogous to parts 20, 20a, 2 lb and 22 as shown in Fig. 2 of the above-mentioned Farringto-n patent where the compression of the spring 22 (here I22) causes the firm engagement of contacts I5 and 25 of the said Farrington patent. Upon release of the cable the weight of the lamp plus the effect of spring I22 acts downwardly on the stem I I and is resisted by the latch dog I lb. Thi would normally cause a cocking of stem I I in a clockwise direction as viewed in Eig. 1 about the latch dog I In as a fulcrum. This cocking is prevented because the projection 22 tightly engages the projection I6 at the point D (Fi 1) while the projections 25 and 26 engage the projection It at points angularly spaced around the axis of the coacting parts from the point D. Thus there is a three-point centering effect of the projections 22, 25 and 26 at levels spaced apart vertically on the coacting stem and guide. This firmly holds the parts with the axis of stem II vertical and with a minimum of surface contact between the stem and guide, thus resulting in a minimum holding effect of any corrosion between the stem and guide. Any corrosion at the upper levels is free to fall down between the spaced projections 25 and 26 at the upper level and 22, 23 and 24 at the lower level. There is additional clearance at the point E (Fig. 3) between the ends of the projections I6. It will be noted in Figs. 2 and 3 that portions of the projections 25 and 26 at the upper level and of 23 and 24 at the lower level lie diametrically opposite each other so as to provide full engagement across the coacting diameters of the stem and guide at these points. This prevents side sway. The projection I'I aids in centering the stem as it enters the guide and also aids in eliminating sway of the stem toward and away from the latch dog when the parts are in latched position.

proximately equal to the above described play.

This provides a snug fit between the parts as illustrated in Fig. 3. In a similar'manner the outer arcuate faces 25a and 26a of the projections 25 and 26 are formed about a center C which is eccentric from the ax s of the stem by the same amount as the eccentricity of the center B previ- As mentioned before the projections 25 and 26 are long enough to engage both projections I4 and I5 of the guide; Therefore when a guide is used which is cut off at the upper surface of the flange IOa the same stem I I may be utilized and the projections 25 and 26 then coact with the projection I5 in the same manner as previously described in connection with the projection I4. In this case the stem is centered in the guide in exactly the same way and the coacting projections I5, 25 and 26 prevent lateral movement of the stem in the guide as previously described.

What we claim is:

1. Means for centering a vertically extending lamp hanger stem in its hollow guide comprising bosses spaced circumferentially about said stem at upper and lower levels and engaging the interior walls of said guide for holding said stem centered therein, while providing a limited surface of contact between said stem and guide, whereby corrosion and dirt may fall away between said spaced bosses.

2. Means for centering a vertically extending stem in its hollow guide, wherein a holding latch interengages said stem and guide intermediate their ends, comprising bosses spaced circumferentially about said stem at upper and lower levels and engaging the interior walls of said guide for holding said stem centered therein, one of said bosses engaging said guide adjacent said latch, and two of said bosses engaging said guide at a higher level than said one bossand on the side of said stem away from said latch, whereby a three-point centering support is provided.

3. Means for centering a vertically extending stern in its hollow guide, wherein a holding latch interengages said stem and guide intermediate their ends, comprising vertically extending bosses spaced circumferentially about said stem, there being at least one of said bosses at approximately the level of said latch and two of said bosses at a higher level and spaced around said stem approximately one hundred and twenty degrees from said first named boss, a horizontally extending boss on the interior wall of said guide engaging said first named stem boss, and a horizontally extending boss on the interior wall of said guide engaging said two stem bosses at the higher level. THAYER B. FARRING'ION. ROBERT K. FARRINGTON. WADE T. KELLER. 

